A U.S. delegation informed a U.N. Security Council panel of experts
monitoring Iranian sanctions in recent months that Iranian procurement
agents have been increasing their efforts to illicitly obtain equipment
for the IR-40 research reactor at the Arak nuclear complex.

The American allegations, which have never before been reported, come
more than a year after the Iranian government pledged as part of an
interim agreement with the United States and other big powers to scale
back Iran’s most controversial nuclear-related activities, including the
enrichment of high-grade uranium, in exchange for billions of dollars
in sanctions relief. They stand in stark contrast to recent remarks by
Secretary of State John Kerry, who has repeatedly credited Tehran with
abiding by the terms of the November 2013 pact, which bound Tehran to
suspend some of its work at Arak. “Iran has held up its end of the
bargain,” Kerry said last month in Vienna as he announced a seven-month
extension of the timetable for big-power talks.

The allegation is also sure to add to the mounting congressional
unease over the administration’s ongoing talks with Tehran. Many
lawmakers from both parties believe that the White House is making too
many concessions to Tehran to cement a deal that it sees as central to
the president’s legacy. With the GOP slated to take over the Senate next
month, Iran hawks like Arizona Republican John McCain and Illinois
Republican Mark Kirk are already promising to push through a new package
of economic sanctions, a move that the White House believes would
scupper the delicate talks with Tehran. Both men are likely to see the
new U.N. allegations as proof that Tehran simply can’t be trusted to
abide by the terms of a future deal.

As part of its pact with the United States and other big powers, Iran
has halted some critical construction work at the IR-40 research
reactor, which is already being monitored by the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA), and in December provided the agency’s inspectors
with “managed” access to a heavy-water production plant at Arak that had
not been subject to IAEA monitoring. Iran is currently in discussions
with the IAEA on establishing a protocol for future monitoring of the
reactor.

The U.S. allegations were detailed in a confidential Nov. 7 report by
an eight-member panel of experts that advises a U.N. Security Council
committee that oversees international compliance with U.N. sanctions on
Iran. The report, which cites an unnamed state as the source of the
allegation, doesn’t identify the United States by name. But diplomatic
sources confirmed that the United States presented the briefing.

The confidential report, portions of which were made available to Foreign Policy,
notes that “one member state highlighted during consultations with the
panel a number of developments regarding proliferation-sensitive
procurement by Iran.” The delegation, the report continued, “informed
the panel that it had observed no recent downturn in procurement” in
recent months. It did cite a “relative decrease in centrifuge enrichment
related-procurement” in recent months. But it added that it had
detected “an increase in procurement on behalf of the IR-40 Heavy Water
Research Reactor at Arak.”

The United States indicated that foreign businesses and purchasing
agents interested in doing business with Iran have been taking advantage
of the improved diplomatic atmosphere to broker new deals with Iran. At
the same time, they say there is overwhelming evidence that Tehran
continues to transfer huge amounts of weapons to its proxies and allies,
including Syria and Iraq. In June, the U.N. panel of experts asserted
that an Iranian shipment of rockets, mortars and other arms seized in
March by the Israeli navy while en route to Sudan violated the U.N. arms
embargo. Only last week, U.S. and Iranian officials confirmed that
Iranian warplanes had launched airstrikes on Islamic State targets in
Iraq, making Tehran and Washington unofficial allies in the fight
against the Islamist group.

The President of the United States seems to believe that if you wish upon a star, your dreams will come true. There might eventually be an agreement reached between Iran and the P 5+1, but if there is, you can bet that Iran will violate it.

The Obama administration has promised over and over again that if Iran violates the interim deal, it would support sanctions. Examples are here, here and here (and there are several more). But instead of taking the lead on additional sanctions, the Obama administration is trying to hide the violations and to enact more 'sanctions relief.'

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About Me

I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 12 to 33 years and eight grandchildren. Three of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com